Press Release, 20.05.2020

Anna Cherepanova, deputy of the Duma of Veliky Novgorod and Chair of the Novgorod branch of Yabloko, turned to the Public Prosecutor General’s Office, the Investigative Committee and the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. She demands a check on the fact of damage to the monument One Thousand Years of Russia as a result of chemical treatment with a solution of chlorine.

“This is a display of extreme idiocy. The military from the chemical protection unit poured chlorine over the Novgorod symbol. What for? Why? For the sake of PR and a beautiful picture in the media, illustrating the process of disinfection of the city? ” the Chair of the Novgorod Yabloko is perplexed.

“Not only is this a completely meaningless action, but experts say that it has damaged the world famous monument. Then it should be qualified as vandalism with the corresponding legal consequences,” Anna Cherepanova says.

“It doesn’t fit my head how the museum’s leadership, which should protect the unique cultural heritage, allowed the military to pour an aggressive substance over the monument. It turns out that the Russian Ministry of Culture was not aware of what was happening, did not give any approval for disinfection and sends a special commission to Veliky Novgorod. What the One Thousand Years of Russia looks like today can be seen in the photographs. I do not share the optimism of Governor Andrei Nikitin, as not all well with the monument,” the deputy adds.

It should be noted that the St.Petersburg magazine “City 812” first wrote about the “chemical attack” on the main monument of Veliky Novgorod, located in the Novgorod Kremlin. According to the publication, not only the One Thousand Years of Russia cast from bronze was damaged, but also the Magdeburg Gate in the western portal of St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod.

According to the press center of the administration of Veliky Novgorod, the territory inside the Novgorod Kremlin, including the monument, was “disinfected” by the military on April 29.